The Lone Wolf Keeps a Date

A very enjoyable Lone Wolf movie, "The Lone Wolf Keeps a Date" finds Michael Lanyard (The Lone Wolf, played by Warren William) and his butler Jameson (Eric Pangborn) in Havana for a stamp convention. Well, the best laid plans -- Lanyard, a former jewel thief, soon finds himself without his collection and involved in a kidnapping, the young man who is accused sitting in prison, and his fiancé trying to pay the ransom.

This is the outrageous and sophisticated Warren William at his best, with lots of comedy contributed by Pangborn. The two of them worked so well together.

Though a B movie, this series was a lot of fun. Before William the role was played by Frances Lederer, Melvyn Douglas, and several other actors. After William departed the series in 1946, Gerald Mohr and Ron Randell played him. It was also a TV series starring the smooth Louis Hayward. I hope to see more starring William.

The Lone Wolf Keeps A Date must have had a few showings at the White House. After all in FDR the most important and prominent stamp collector there ever was happened to be the current resident.

Warren William and Eric Blore as The Lone Wolf and his factotum Jameson are back again and this film for a B picture is rather complicated in terms of plot. It also has more comedy in it as Warren William and Eric Blore look like they're having a great old time overacting outrageously. Catch William in the scene with chief villain Don Beddoe and henchmen.

The story involves The Lone Wolf's stolen stamp collection and the kidnapping of a millionaire in which once again the cops in the person of Thurston Hall and sidekick Fred Kelsey suspect William is involved in the plot when he's really trying to help.

You have to love Kelsey who came from the Keystone Police Academy as a graduate and who is the butt of everything. The Lone Wolf Keeps A Date will give you some suspense and tickle your funny bone even more than most in the series.

"Lanyard" (Warren William) and honourable factotum "Jamison" (Eric Blore) are in Havana on the trail of a rare stamp when they encounter "Patricia" (Frances Robinson) who wants to pinch their cab for an urgent trip to the airport. Charmed, the "Lone Wolf" agrees but after a few moments wishes he hadn't. It turns out that she is embroiled in a ransom plot that involves a kidnapped businessman, $100,000 and her poor old fiancé "Scotty" (Bruce Bennett) who is likely to fry if they don't get to the truth and free the victim in time. Of course, as soon as he is seen anywhere near the investigation, "Insp. Crane" (Thurston Hall) and the hapless "Dickens" (Fred Kelsey) are back on his case hoping and praying that this might be the time they finally manage to apprehend him. It's not the best story here, it's a bit thin and a little too contrived, but there are plenty of amiable one-liners and some fun with boats that sees "Dickens" getting a well deserved ducking once or twice.

During the 1940s, Columbia Pictures made two nearly identical B-detective series--Boston Blackie and The Lone Wolf. At times, the plots of the two seemed almost interchangeable and the formula was very similar. Both featured stupid police inspectors with even stupider assistants, both featured a leading man who had once been a criminal but had now gone straight and both featured a prominent role for a supporting buddy for the lead. About the only major difference was that the Lone Wolf's man-servant (Eric Blore) was hilarious and Blackie's friend ("Runt", usually played by George E. Stone) was relatively bland compared to the incomparable Blore. Blore simply was a very funny man in films like this as well as in the Astaire-Rogers films.

Now as for the plot, it involves a kidnapped man and a woman who is trying to solve this mystery in order to clear her fiancé who has been wrongly jailed for the crime. Not unexpectedly, the Lone Wolf (Warren William) stumbles upon this very pretty lady and offers his able assistance. While none of this is particularly original or memorable, the acting is excellent and the film is all in good fun. Overall, better than a Blackie film and about on par with a Falcon or Saint series film.

This was Warren Williams's 4th Lone Wolf outing to Eric Blore's 3rd as the adventurous master and butler Michael Lanyard and Jamison. The entire cast were dapper in the Hollywood sunshine but Blore outshone them all, he was never more snazzily dressed than in here.

The plot has it that Lanyard lets himself become embroiled in a rather nasty kidnapping affair after the baddies steal his precious stamp album mistaking it for their pay off of USD 100,000. And as usual he was helping out a damsel in distress. Amidst some fine comedic banter between the leads, slapstick, the baddies being hunted down by Lanyard and vice versa with the cops after Lanyard it can all get can pretty complicated and surreal at times, especially when the yacht makes an appearance so I recommend attention. Favourite bits: The amusing opening and chase scene in Havana; Lanyard feigning utter horror at the mess his stamp collection had got into in baddie Ed Gargan's none-too-delicate hands; whenever 53 yo zooty Blore had to run - what a sight!

All in all another nice entry in the series (by my count no. 6/15), for those of us who like the genre.